Missouri, California Clash Over Air-Quality Plan A proposal to reduce air pollution from lawn mowers and other gas-powered outdoor equipment has set the stage for a battle between the staid Midwestern state of Missouri and the kooky Californians. To help deal with the Golden State's chronic air-quality problem, the California Air Resources Board plans to require manufacturers to equip all small gasoline engines sold in the state with catalytic converters beginning in 2008. That plan isn't sitting well with Missouri Sen. Christopher Bond (R), whose state is home to two factories owned by Briggs and Stratton, the world's largest manufacturer …

Just after George W. Bush took office, two memos circulated among his top administrators that set the stage for what the president, during his campaign, promoted as a new era of environmental policy. On Bush's first day in office, January 20, 2001, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card sent a memo to all cabinet members directing them to ice more than 50 regulations (many of them several years in the making) that had been approved toward the end of the Clinton administration. The rules were not to be enacted unless the White House Office of Management and Budget could …

Central Europe's Largest Lake Is Shrinking According to legend, Hungary's Lake Balaton is constantly replenished by a young girl weeping in a church in the middle of its waters. Now, though, Central Europe's largest lake is shrinking, and experts say the problem isn't a happier lake lady; it's global warming. Following four hot summers in a row and lower-than-average annual rainfalls, millions of gallons of lakewater have disappeared, exposing mudflats and forcing visitors to the 231-square-mile lake -- one of Hungary's most popular tourist attractions -- to walk far out from the original water's edge for a swim. Environmentalists, climate …

Controversial Logging Company Tries to Green Its Image Pacific Lumber, one of the most reviled logging companies in the U.S., is trying to give itself a green makeover. The Northern California logging giant, recently renamed Palco, has a new logo featuring a recycling symbol shaped like a tree, a new mission statement in which it commits to being "a leader in environmental stewardship," and new newspaper ads featuring workers planting trees. The company earned the ire of environmentalists over the past 15 years by threatening to cut down ancient redwoods in the famous Headwaters Forest and clashing with tree-sitting protestors, …

Wind Power on the Rise in Lone Star State Texas is probably not the first place that comes to mind when the topic turns to clean energy -- but the land of fossil fuels is looking to become a leader in renewable power by investing heavily in wind energy. The state is already the second-largest wind-energy producer in the country, trailing only California. In the last three years, Texas has upped its wind-power capacity from under 200 to over 900 megawatts, or enough to power about a half-million homes. The state wants to see that number climb to 2,000 MW …

Prestige Disaster Likely Worse Than Exxon Valdez Spill, Report Says The leak from the oil tanker Prestige off the coast of Spain last year probably caused more environmental damage than the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, according to a new report by a private Spanish economic institute. Some 78,000 metric tons of fuel have been cleansed from beaches since the November sinking, and the Prestige continues to leak at the rate of roughly one metric ton per day. The estimated cost of cleaning up the Galician coastline is $2.8 billion dollars, about $800 million * more than the Exxon Valdez cleanup …

If you plan to have sex anytime soon, let's hope it's not in Niger, Africa. According to the nonprofit organization Save the Children, just 4 percent of couples in Niger have access to birth control. Although the situation in this West African country is extreme, more than 125 million couples worldwide -- most of them in developing countries -- cannot get contraceptives. Some of the children that have resulted from these couplings were wanted and some were not, but one thing is certain: Lack of access to birth control increases the burden on already strained parents and on the global …

Canada Unveils $1B Plan to Address Climate Change Canada is stepping up to the plate to tackle climate change -- or at least emerging from the dugout. Prime Minister Jean Chretien yesterday unveiled a nearly $1 billion package aimed at helping the nation lower its emissions of greenhouse gases. The plan includes incentives for individuals and businesses to make their homes and buildings more energy-efficient, subsidies for the fuel-cell and ethanol industries, and money to assist provinces and aboriginal communities in launching emission-reduction initiatives. Still, Canada has lots more to do in order to meet its commitments under the Kyoto …

Automakers Drop Longstanding Suit Over California's Car-Emissions Rule Clearing the way for more clean cars in California, two major automakers have agreed to settle a lawsuit over the state's landmark regulation that calls for increased production of low-emission and zero-emission cars and trucks between 2005 and 2020. General Motors and DaimlerChrysler will now join other automakers in preparing to sell millions of less-polluting vehicles in California to help the state tackle its infamous air pollution problem. As one of the world's largest vehicle markets, California has great influence over the worldwide auto industry; New York and Massachusetts have previously announced …

California Cancels Use of Prison Labor to Recycle Electronics California will no longer use underpaid federal prisoners to recycle the tons of potentially dangerous electronics discarded by state workers. The decision to stop shipping e-waste to prisons came in response to pressure from environmental and labor activists, who also successfully protested a similar arrangement by Dell, the largest computer maker in the U.S., which canceled its prison-labor recycling program last month. California plans to hire a private recycler instead, a move that was greeted as "great news for the real e-waste recycling industry," according to Mark Murray, director of Californians …